Iron County (Utah). County Recorder Military discharges

Historical Note

Scope and Content

Utah Code states that upon presentation, the county recorder shall record honorable discharges from the military, naval, or marine service of the United States, and any orders, citations, and decorations of honor relating to a person while in the military service of the United States. County recorders' copies are considered evidence with the same effect as the original (Utah Code, 17-21-14, 2000). Military discharge records include extensive personal information, as well as military service and discharge information. Documents in this series include discharges from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.

Military discharge records include name, date and place of birth, race, marital status, occupation, education, character notes, physical description, immunization records, notes on personal marks or identifications, and notes on general physical condition at the time of discharge. They contain military information, such as date and place of induction, military serial number, grade, rank, branch of service, evaluation of military skills, military decorations, citations and awards, military campaigns participated in, and wounds received in battle. Discharge data include such things as date, reason, and location of discharge, home address or other destination, travel allowance, pay and insurance data, and the signature of a discharging officer. The United States military used a variety of forms to verify discharge. In some cases the Iron County recorder filled out a copy on a form similar to the original. In other cases, she typed a transcript of the information on the discharge.

Arrangement

Chronological by date.

The Iron County recorder separated discharges into three books: 1 ) World War I discharges; 2 ) World War II discharges separated according to branch of service: army , navy, marines; and 3 ) post-World War II discharges. Within each book or section, she kept discharges in recording date order.

Research Note

Book 1 of Iron County discharges, recorded 1921-1961, pertains primarily to World War I veterans, but includes some discharges from the early 1940s. It includes many enlistment records along with discharges. Book 2 relates to World War II discharges, and also includes a list of the soldiers from Iron County killed in World War II. The book is divided into sections: army, recorded Nov 1944-Dec 1952, comprising pages 21-452; navy, recorded Oct 1944-Aug 1952, comprising pages 421-586; and marine corps, recorded Dec 1944-Mar 1962, comprising pages 521-545. Book 3, which was recorded Feb 1953-June 1964 mixes all branches of military service, and represents discharges issued from 1918 to 1964. The index distinguishes between honorable discharges and separation papers.

Related Records

Military separation forms and benefit records from the Department of Administrative Services. Division of Archives and Records Service, Series 2794, contains military discharges compiled from multiple sources, including county recorders' copies.

Official records from Iron County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 7064, contains miscellaneous records kept by the county recorder, and may contain more recent military discharges.

Additional Forms

This series is available on microfilm.

Access Restrictions

This series is primarily classified as Public. The secondary classification is Private: Records on microfilm at the State Archives that are less than 75 years old may contain some private information. (UCA 63G-2-310).

Preferred Citation

Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

Processing Note

Iron County military discharges were microfilmed by the Utah State Archives in November 1974 and processed by Rosemary Cundiff in July 2000.